


The Wrong One

by greenteabtch



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Minor Sansa Stark/Gendry Waters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-06-29 05:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19823173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenteabtch/pseuds/greenteabtch
Summary: Recognised by his father, Gendry is the heir to the Iron Throne, and is supposed to find a wife. Despite his wide selection of ladies, he ends up falling for the wrong one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the poor english you'll probably find while reading, but english is not my first language. I tried my best, and I hope it will still be understandable and enjoyable

For weeks the whole Castle was being prepared for the arrival of the royal family. Arya had a new green gown, which almost prevented her from moving. Sha had to wake before dawn, just to get ready for the meeting, and waiting for the royal carriage to enter Winterfell's gates beside her sister was killing her. She was prevented from being on the King's Road to be the first to see the Baratheons arrive, so she had to stay with her family, in the green gown she hated and with sore feet thanks to the shoes her mother forced on her.

It was a relief when she saw the first knights entering the gates. Arya started to feel her feet again when she saw the horses and the Baratheon banners inside the walls. They taught her how to ride, but she never really liked using horses; since the day when Robb, after a hunt, had gifted her a direwolf puppy, Nymeria, she was trying to train it, so that, when she grew up and she would become the size of a horse, she would be able to ride on her back.

She was thinking of Nymeria when she saw the Prince entering the courtyard on horseback, shortly before the Queen's carriage. She stopped whatching him, her eyes wide open. Watching Prince Gendry enter Winterfell on his white horse, dressed in gold, with a triumphant look, had a strange effect on her. Mabye it was the new cut he gave to his black hair, mabye the short beard he started to grow; she didn't know what, but there was something in him preventing her from removing her grey eyes from his blue ones.

Only when he looked away to get off his horse Arya realised how silly her thoughts were. She looked at the carriage and saw Queen Cersei getting off with her children. Their blonde hair almost reflected the shy sun and its sight irritated Arya's eyes like nothing else.

The King get off hi horse, Arya didn't even see him coming, and she found herself having to bow, jerked to the ground by her sister. When she saw everyone getting up, she did it too, and listened to her father talking with the King. They were talking like old friends, until Robert turned to her brothers. First he talked to Robb, asking him if he was ready to replace his father, then he asked Rickon and Bran to show hime their muscles. He went over to Sansa, and appreciated her beauty; how not to do it, Arya wondered when, looking up at the King, she saw him looking at her with an amused smirk:-And what's your name?

-Arya.- the girl answered, staring into his eyes. He nodded and turned back to Lord Stark, asking him to accompany him to the crypts. Arya watched them go and then turned to her sister:-Well, now what?- she asked smiling at her sister, while out of te corner of her ewe she saw the Queen approaching and talking to her mother.

-You can do whatever you want, I have to get dressed for tonight's feast.- answered Sansa, cold as ice, without even looking at her. She was probably looking at the Queen, who however did not seem to have any inerest in them. She was beautiful, Cersei Lannister. Arya was sure that Sansa too, someday, would become as beautiful as her, mabye even more than she was, each of her brother would find beautiful wives, and she would have been forced to marry a lord, hoping to be pretty enough for him, so that he woulf not return home after the wars with as many bastards as the days of absence from the fortress.

She shaked her head, making those dark thoughts move away from her head, before seeing aut of the corner of her eye Robb untie the lines, when Cersei asked Lady Stark to accompany her and her children inside. She started running towards the, at least that day, empty forge, where she had hidden Nymeria, and reached her direwolf in a few minutes.

She didn't understand that someone had followed her until Gendry's golden cloack made a dull thud when the Prince set it on a table. Arya turned her face shocked and her eyes widened when she found herself in front of the boy. Her head was telling her to bow, to respect the formalities, but her body didn't move. She felt his eyes on her, and her muscles no longer wanted to respond.

-Lady Stark... I didn't know I'd fine you here... usually forges are not places for a lady.- spoke Gendry, leaning against a tambe, his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze fixed on her, as if he had never seen a girl. Arya found herself shrugging her shoulders. She knew she was not a lady, but it would have been strange to tell another person, especially the Prince.

-It's... hotter here.- she answered without looking away from his eyes. -Although it certainly isn't even the place of a Prince... what... what are you doing here?- she then asked smiling. In her head, her mother was telling her to mind her own buisness, but curiosity was too strong. And Gendry understood that.

-I had to stretch my legs, after riding all day and... they brought me down here.- explained the Prince shaking his head amused by the lie he was telling her. The truth was that he had expressly asked where the forge was, he hadn't picked up a hammer for almos a month now, and he missed the warmth of the fire and the sound of wrought iron.

-So... neither of us should be here... and I hope neither wuold spy on the other. I surerly won't...- Arya started babbling, looking away from the Prince, before being interrupted by him:-My father wouldn't be surprised to find me here, and the Queen doesn't care. I think it's more important that Lord and Lady Stark don't find out. And I promise you I won't be the spy. But I think you should get ready... I know there will be a feast toniht and if you put in as much as the Queen, you're already late.

-I'm no lady... certainly not the Queen. I won't take more than my due. And I've already prepared myself enough this morning for your arrival, in short, this dress is killing me, and you can't even see it under the fur.- said Arya without thinking that she was talking to the Prince, and realising it only when he started laughing.

His laugh so cear that he interrupted the flow of thoughts in the girl's head. Thoughts that had finally found the time and the person to be revealed to, even though he was obviusly the wrong one. Arya believed it would be a disaster to dinfide in her sister or her brothers, but perhaps she had managed to find a worse person to confide.

Gendry shook his head, trying to stop his laughter. However, under Arya's embarrassed gaze, the Prince could not command his laughter, as he had never managed to command anything or anyone in the nineteen years of his life as a prince. It was when Arya tried to leave, that Gendry's laughter stopped, and his hand ran to hers, to keep her frome escaping; he had found someone who did not seem to think of him just as the Prince, and he had no intention of letting her escape.

-I... didn't mean to laugh at you, Lady Stark... forgive my insolence, but I think it was due to the profound truth you said.- told Gendry, making the girl turn back to him. Arya knew that he was referring to not being the Queen. Sh was probably famous in all the Seven Kingdoms for her clumsiness, her tomboy manner and her ugliness. -I think it's a shame that your fur is hiding the dress you put on for the occasion. It must be really lovely.

Arya was dumbfounded by the Prince's words, watched his lips smile at her, trying to assure her that it was what he really thought. The girl foud herself smiling back at him, as to show appreciation to the boy's comment:-Actually it's a horrendous color and I think it doesn't suit me, but... I appreciate the trust, my Prince.

Gendry nodded to her, leaving her hand and got back on his feet, not far frome her. He was about to say something, something too glazed, like he couldn't believe her words, but he was interrupted by Jon Snow, who was calling Arya to take her to her rooms to get ready. When he entered the forge, Jon didn't make the same mistake as his sister, bowing briefly to the Prince before calling Arya again and demanding, in the name of the Lady of Winterfell, that she follow him.


	2. Chapter 2

In the North all was colder; landscapes, rooms and even people. Gendry loved the northern landscapes, although they were so cold; he still didn't know it, but the snow would become his favorite thing. As for the rooms, in all that he had entered he had seemed to see or hear the fireplace burning, probably to prevent the cold from penetrating too much into the heavy rocky walls, and he had decided he would never have his own extinguished.

He grew up hearing that the Northeners were cold, but looking at the hal full of celebrating lords who toasted and sang by now already drunk, made him think they were all lies. Of course, the Lord of Winterfell might seem stiff, but after drinking a few wine cups, like every man he'd ever known, he stopped thinking about what it would be right to do and did what he really wanted; in the case of that night, an indecent ballet with the King.

-Did you know our fathers were so friends, my Prince?- asked Robb Stark, making Gendry realise that mabye, staring at Robert and Ned wasn't the best choice to go unnoticed. If it had ever been possible for the heir to the throne to go unnoticed at a feast in honor of the King. He shook his head, taking his own cup and sipping from it before looking at the boy who was talking to him.

-No... my father doesn't like talking about you Starks, and for yoears I tought it was because of a... fight between him and your father.- he answered sincerely, remembering that for years he had thought that there wasn't good blood between King's Landing and Winterfell. -Then the court Maester taught me the history of the uprising and I understood everything. I think that thinking of your family brings back to his mind unhappy thoughts.

Robb nodded, as if he understood what the Prince was saying, as if even in their family one could not talk about Ned's sister, as if to be seen in accordance with his observation:-Aye, it mustn't have been nice...- he added then, looking away from the Prince and turning his eyes to his sisters, seated at the end of the table. -Do you know that you're a very lucky man, don't you?- Gendry listened to the question and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion; he had been told several times how lucky he was, but he didn't believe that even the boy in front of him thought so. After all, Gendry would raher be in his place, with a loving family, than the other way around.

-Sansa will be a good Queen, and I think a perfect wife.- added Robb, taking a last look at his sister before turning his gaze back on him. -Know that I will not hesitate to go down to King's Landing, if she asks me to.- he said with the most serious look that Gendry had ever seen on a man. He could've sworn he saw the boy's crystalline eyes darken, turn blue like the night sky, for a second. The Prince shrug his shoulders, as if to apologize for his ignorance, and asked the Lord to explain himself better.

-Did you really come here without knowing the real reason for your trip?- asked Robb trying to hide a laugh. Gendry was puzzled by his words, he was more than convinced that the trip to the North was to ask Lord Stark to become Hand of the King, but he began to connect the clues, and Robb's comment finally made him open his eyes. -The King had wanted to arrange your marriage with Sansa for years, but they had to wait for her to grow up enough to make it official.

If he felt overwhelmed by the hypothesis of that statement, his confirmation made him speechless. He would never deny that the idea of finding a wife had ever crossed his mind, but he didn't believe his father would choose for him. Especially after having introduced him pratically all th ladies of the Seven Kingdoms inviting them to stay at the Keep, starting from his nineteenth nameday, a few months earlier. He obviously thought that the first of Lord Stark's daughters would take part in the selection, but he believed he had freedom of choice. Many important lords had sent their daughters, hoping that theirs could become Queen, and Gendry discovered at that moment that the King had already decided and had deceived all his lords just to make them quiet in their fortresses. -If you want to excuse me, I have to share my sisters before they kill each other.- Robb concluded before hurrying to his sisters, almost taking the smallest one in his arms to take her out of the room. Gendry didn't undderstand what had happened while he was absorbed in his thoughts, but he cared little. He needed to process Robb's words and his father's decisions, and decided that the best way to do it was to leave the hall. It wasn't easy to get out of the frast hall and find the way to the courtyard, but after dodging some girls who couldn't wait to lie with him, many drunken lords who wanted his attention, he succeeded and looked at the moon. Another positive side of the North was that the stars were clearer, the moon seemed almost closer. Even in his Keep it was nice to look at the stars, he often climbed up to the highest tower and spent the whole night watching and counting the stars.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one; he was walking slowly along the deserted courtyard, away from the feast when he saw a dark shape move over the walls, looking for a comfortable place to observe. -Who's there?!- Gendry shouted when he saw the shadow stopping. -And how can I reach you?- he added, looking around for a ladder.

The silhouette laughed amused as she heard his words; it was a woman's laugh, but Gendry coulnd't figure out who it belonged to. -I can come down, if it pleases you, my Prince. Or there are stais inside the tower on your left.- she answered in a warm and friendly voice, approaching the prince, while remaining on the walls, while he told her to stay where she was and walked towards the heavy wooden door. He climbed the stairs and joined the girl, being greeted by a deep bow.

-Lady Sansa, what are you doing here?- Gendry asked after returning the greeting, too formal for him. -Weren't you having fun at the feast?- he added, approaching the edge of the walls, resting his hands on the stone surface and looking at the moon.

-My sister... forced me to leave the fest, my Prince.- the girl answered with a sigh. -She tried to stard a food war and I had to go and change my dress. However, before returning, I wanted to get some fresh air. What are you doing here?

-I would say for the same reason... air was getting havy and I needed to think.- Gendry answered, moving his gaze towards the girl; she was undoubtley one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, but something told him that, mabye, she wouldn't be the right choice. Not that he really had a choice now.

-Trouble in Paradise?- Sansa asked shaking her head. -Robb told me you didn't know about our betrothal, and I hope... it wasn't a bad surprise. I mean, are you... already in love?

-No.- He wasn't, or at least, he didn't think he was. He had spent the last few months - all his life, to tell the truth - surrounded by girls who did nothing but try to please him, and he didn't see himself with any of them. He had certainly not found the right one yet, so he answered Sansa truly. -I haven't had the pleasure yet...

-Many believe that love is aweakness... I think is the only way to keep a family together, a happy kingdom and not to spend one's life alone. My mother has always taught me that love is the basis of everything.

-Your mother is a wise woman. My father's love for youraunt is why we are here now talking, your parents' love is the reason for your ecistence, and we should all be grateful to them for having loved each other so much.

Sansa blushed at the Prince's words, thanking the night for the darkness that covered her from his view. She turned to him and sighed:-I would love to say the same, but I think the whole kingdom knows your history. I have to thank fate for bringing you to me. And there's no day when I don't.

Gendry's blue eyes met Sansa's green ones, which reflected the sincerity of her words, and the Prince felt almost embarrassed, as the girl probably didn't know about the competiton yet. He felt embarrassed also because of the silence that had created between them, beacuse he didn't know what to say anymore. He couldn't tell her that he was not used to the northern cold and that he was starting to feel too cold.

He smiled, without looking away from her eyes, hoping she would understand his situation thanks to the small movements he made to move his cloak so as to cover himself as much as possible. Sansa understood, but pretended she didn't; she was waiting for him to say something, to dismiss her or ask her to go back inside. Mabye she was waiting for something more, somethig Gendry didn't know she wanted yet.

-Do you... think they noticed our absence? Maybe we should go back inside...- Gendry said, finally breaking the silence, giving voice to his thoughts as well as Sansa's. She nodded, smiling, and he held out his hand.

So they went towards the hall, in silence, hand in hand, and were greeted by the nois of the feast still in progress. Gendry took Sansa to her place, and left her hand only after he kissed its back, when she sat down beside her best friend, before returning to his seat in fronto of her older brother, who began to discreetly question him.


	3. Chapter 3

Almost a month had passed since the arrival of the royal family in the North, announcements had been made and things had happened.Things like Bran's fall from the tower, which had forced him to bed, hoping he could wake up. Things like Prince Joffrey's whims, who could no longer bear the cold of Winterfell, and things like Arya's first ride on Nymeria. The little lady had just returned from the woods, and she had found her own room full of servants who were packing her bags.

She would leave for King's Landing the following morning, along with her sister and father, and still all her clothes were in the big wooden wardrobe against the wall, just like that morning when she had gone out. Catelyn whised Arya would learn to pack her own bags, but she was too busy prauing for Bran to wake up, so Arya managed to convince her father that she wouldn't be able to make it and she took a walk while others worked for her. It was a selfish behavior, but she didn't want to leave and she wouldn't pack her bags if this could delay the journey south.

She was sitting on her bed when Jon entered the room. She dismissed all the servants, who were now finished, and decided to spend some time with her brother. She knew they didn't share the same mother, but she considered him her brother almost more than she considered Sansa her sister. They had a special bond, she and Jon. He was the only one of her brothers who realized how hard was for her being a lady and how much she wanted to train with them. And he was the one who gave her her first lessons, to help her with the first training sessions, obviously in secret.

And he would have been him, at that very moment, to give her her first weapon. That was why he was in her room, to give her his farewell gift. The next morning he would leave for the Wall, to enter the Night's Watch, and he would never see his little sister again. He had Needle built - so Arya decided to call her sword once she received it - from Winterfell's blacksmith especially for her, trying to keep the secret. None of the Starks should have known, or they would have immediately said that he could not give her such a gift, which was not suitable for a lady.

-And remember... Stick them with the pointy head.- Jon said laughing as he sat with her on the bed. Arya found herself smiling amused, remembering that this was the first thing she had heard once she took her first sword. -I think I know it by now, Jon...- she answered shaking her head as she looked and turned Needle in her hands.

-Arya...

-Sansa's amazing, but I can't become just like her, right?

-I was asking you not to forget me and write me when you cand, but yes, that too...

-How could I forget you, Jon? You were my favorite brother for fourteen years, I would forget Rickon before you... And the North remembers, you know it too.

-But you're heading south...

-i'm still Arya Stark of Winterfell. I'm a northern lady, Jon.

-Thought you didn't want to be a lady.- Jon raised his eyebrows looking at his sister, amused and confused by her words. Arya felt herself blush and looked away from him, shaking her head. -I think I'm getting used to the idea that this is my only destiny.

The truth was that Arya was slowly realizing the benefits of being a lady. She had spent a lot of time in the villages surroinding the fortress, more and more since the royal family arrived, and she realized that not everyone had the privileges she enjoyed. Privileges like hot meals every day, clean clothes, a strong roof. It wasn't selfish to realize what one has and stop denying it, was it?

Prince Gendry had said no. He too would never return to the poverty in which he was born, if he could choose. She had asked that question a few nights earlier, immersed in the thermal pools below the fortress. Arya had gone there to try to let her anger cool after a fight with her father about the journey she didn't want to tale, and she had been reached by the Prince once she was already immersed in the pools. He had asked her if it was a problem to share the heat of the pool with him and, at her negative response, he had slipped into the tub.

At that moment Arya realized that another thing she would not to without was conversations with her brother-in-law, the other person - besides Jon - who didn't treat her only as a lady, but as a person. She had forced herself not to think about the fact that they were naked in the same pool to talk to him as they had done several times in the corridors of the fortress, not to think about hou much her sister and mother would be angry if they had known of her improper wats with the Prince, and in the end, having overcome the embarrassment and the initial silence, they had begun to talk about this and that, including Arya's feeling of selfishness.

-You could always run away and become a nomad... a warrior. Possibilities are endless, Arya.- Jon repiled dismissing her thoughts from that evening, from the steam of the water and bringing her back to reality. Arya shook her head and smiled at him, appreciating the encouragement.

-Not all of us can join the Watch to escape our destiny. Even if I don't understand why they still don't let women enter it.

-I don't think women would enter Castle Black even if they could... However I came here, as well as to greet you, to warn you to start dressing for tonight's feast. Your last meal in Winterfell is near, you have to enjoy it.

-I would probably enjoy it better being here.- Arya muttered, rolling her eyes and immediately standing up. -Then they should have put all my clothes in my bags, how should I get dressed?

Jon pointed to a blue gown resting on a chair not far from her bed as he got up laughing:-I think that's fine, milady. The Prince would remain enchanted.- he said, going as quickly as possible to the door. He could not be so quick to dodge a pillow thrown by Arya, but it was enough to avoid hearing her scream that he was betrohed to Sansa.

It was a month that Jon managed to get halfway through the conversations between Arya and the Prince, and he had decided completely by himself to start teasing her, assuming that she had fallen in love and found every possible way to have a few seconds with him.

When he came out of sight, Arya shook her head and decided to make her mother happy at least for one night, even though she knew she would stay at Bran's bedside and start dressing and combing her hair. She was ready just before being called by her septa to go down to the feast.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone leaving kudos and comments, it means a lot for me knowing that someone reads and likes this story just as much as I do!

That night Gendry hadn't slept. He had too many worries to sleep on the uncomfortable bed in his room, but he had tried. He was worried about the journey, something could happen; he always feared that, that's why he liked very little to leave the capital. He was worried that his brothers would make Sansa's and Arya's lives hell as they tried to make his since forever. He was worried that a month's journey south would ruin his relationship with the Stark sisters, because he had finally found a friend in Arya and didn't want to ruin the almost trusting relationship he had established with his future bride. He was worried about not being able to explain the court's situation to Sansa before arriving in the capital, and he was afraid it would hurt her, that she would feel betrayed.

He thought he could sleep in the carriage where he had asked to stay, too tired to ride. He was convinced of this because he didn't think his father would make him get in his brothers' carriage. He spent the first half of the day's journey to hear his younger brother whimpering that he should have been the one to marry Sansa, as if he hadn't given the same talk about all the other ladies hosted at court. According to Joffrey, he should have been able to choose a Queen, since he obviously had to be the King, once Robert died.

-No, I don't care what you think, Jof. As long as our father intends to declare me his heir, I will be.- Gendry was explaining exasperated as he looked out the window beside him. He couldn't wait to get out of that carriage so he could get away from his brother and get lost in the woods. Mabye get eaten by a wolf, so as to finally make him happy.

-Do you really believe that the folk and lords will be loyal to a bastard? I have Lannister's blood, my claim to the throne will always be stronger than yours, whatever our father says.

-But Robert Baratheon is the King now... and I'm his heir.

-Who do you think it matters? Power belongs to those who take it.

-Can you stop believing that our father is already dead? I will not take the crown for a long time and you will have every day until my coronation to complain. Now, I want to sleep, so shut up.

-But I...

-When your Prince tells you to shut up, what to you do? You shut the fuck up.

Gendry hated using his position to force other people to do something, but it was a pleasure to enjoy half an hour of silence. Silence interrupted when the carriage stopped for lunch. They were in the middle of a rather sparse wood, and the King's Road continued straight ahead for hundreds of miles, but at least Gendry no longer felt the cold he had felt in Winterfell. It was still cold, they were still in the North, but he felt that the weather was slowly getting warmer.

When he got out of the carriage he saw Arya jumping off her own and laughing as she streched her arms and looked at the trees before her, ignoring the Prince's gaze on her. It was as if she could dissappear into the heavy cloak she still wore from that morning, given its length and her stature, but Gendry was more than aware of what lay beneath her baggy clothes. He realized he was staring at the girl when she turned to him and shook a hand in front of him, smiling amused.

-Is everything okay, my Prince?- she asked, approaching him almost hopping. They hadn't moved their legs for hours, and she couldn't stand it any longer, so she tried to use them as much as possible. Gendry nodded laughing at her gait:-Aye... I just thought you must be hot in that cloak, milady... Why don't you leave it in the carriage?

-I can't, Sansa did it, and she would get angry if I left in the carriage her birthday present... or at least I think so. I mean, they always told me to keep it on, at least until it's really too hot.- the girl answered smiling. -Rather weren't you cold, this morning, only with that light cloak, my Prince?

-I spent the last month being cold and you ask me if I'm cold just now? I think the only night I didn't get cold was the one we spent in the thermal pools... even though I was naked.- Gendry said without really thinking about what he was saying. He realized what he had just said when he saw Arya slightly blushing, brobably at the thought of having seen him naked. He let out a cough and ran a hand through his hair. -So. How about taking a walk around here?

-I think it's better if you ask my sister, my Prince. I will go... I would say that I can spend some time with my father. He and the King will have time to talk once they get to the capital, won't they?

-You're absolutely right, lady Arya. I leave you to your father while I... I will go to look for your sister. Even if I haven't seen her get off the carriage... is she still there?

-No, Sansa came down before me... I think she had some needs to attend to.- Arya shrugged laughing before giving the Prince a little bow and then running towards her father and King, asking for the first's attention.

Gendry watched her walk away until his gaze was caught by Sansa's red hair, which moved quickly through the trees. He decided to join her and take a walk with her. Sansa was pleased with his decision, and introduced him to her direwolf, Lady. She was smaller than Arya's, so Sansa had been allowed to take her south, and she seemed even less wild. Gendry imagined that Sansa had trained her as a pet, without leaving her too much space to breathe, to live in her natural habitat, as Winterfell's Lord had tried to do with Arya.

-Why don't you let her run free? Are you afraid that she will run away?- the Prince asked his betrothed, looking at the leash that held the wolf next to them. -She seems pretty forced to walk here, at our speed.

Sansa shrugged, explaining that it was her father's only condition for taking the animal to King's Landing. Lady always had to be on a leash a bit like Gendry, who had a crown instead of a leash. Gendry's thoughts dissolved when they were recalled to the carriagesm so that the journey could resume.

He asked Sansa if she would like to share her carriage with him, so that he could enjoy at least a few hours of silence, and the girl replied that there would be no problems for her. It wasn't usual for the Prince to travel with two ladies, but Gendry cared little. He cared so little that he didn't even try to disguise his entry into the Stark carriage.


	5. Chapter 5

It was hot in the south. No one had ever told Arya how hot the south could be, how beautiful people could be and how extensive the fields could be. Actually someone had tried, but she had never believed there could be such a warm place. She had lived in the capital for a few days, and had already had to ask her father to make her lighter clithes, to aviud dying in the scorching sun. Winter mighy even be coming, but no one had made it known to the warm climate of the south, where the sun seemed to reign even at night.

The pastimes were few, she could sew, eat, complain and go around the Reed Keep withour being able to get out. Her father had discovered Needle a few days after their arrival, and had finally resigned himself to her passion, deciding to let her train, at least in secret, to be able to use it, in case she had to, so she'd started to follow dance lessons with Syrio Forel.

The First Sword of Braavos was teachin Arya how to use her sword when the Prince accidentally entered the room, justifying his entry by saying he was looking for lady Tyrell. Arya looked at him skeptically, raising an eyeprow, because she didn't believe half the word of the Prince, but avoided letting him know, asking Gendry if he wanted to join her.

The Prince would have really loved to join her, but he was looking for Margaery Tyrell for a date, so he had to refuse, without however mentioning again the real reason. It was she who found the Prince, interrupting Arya's already interrupted lesson. Little Stark smiled at her, almost enchanted by her appearence, her smile and her magnetic presence. How could the Prince marry Sansa after spending time with her, Arya didn't know.

She had probably never seen a prettier girl. She was certainly older than she, and probably even the Prince, but her face was still as young as she imagined it would have been when the lady could still call herself a child. Unlike the face, the lady's body was definitely that of a woman, and she was looking for all the ways to make it see, with the help of the close-fitting, low-cut dress she was wearing. She wore her hair long with an elegance that Arya had only seen in the Queen, and she felt that her light eyes were looking at her just as her own were doing with her.

The silence that had been created betweeb the two ladies was interrupted by Margaery, who happily presented herself to Arya, who was less happy to present herself to her. Not beacuse she didn't like getting to know her, or because she didn't like letting people know about her identity, but simply because the Highgarden's lady seemed too happy to be able to enter her graces. She seemed too false for Arya to really trust her.

-My Prince, how about leaving lady Arya at her lesson and dedicating ourselves to our date? Everythig should be ready by now.- Margaery then said to the Prince, who didn't know how to behave, still motionless at the door of the room, to stare alternatively at the two girls. Gendry seemed to roar from a trance when he realized that lady Tyrell was talking to him, and hastened to nod, before greeting Arya and extending his arm towards Margaery, who took him out of the room and towards their date.

Arya turned to Syrio, who had closely followed the scene from afar, and shook his head with a small snort. -Let's start again.- she told her teacher, impatient to resume her lesson. -Only if you stop thinking about your problems.- was the answer of the First Sword of Braavos looking towards the door behind Arya.

-I have absolutely no problem.- Arya said before starting to attack the man. Syrio laughed, parrying each of her strokes and ending up poinying his wooden sword at her throat.

So why are you boiling with rage, girl?- he asked her, almost trying to hold back a laugh as he stared into her eyes. -Does the way your prince look at her make you angry?- more than as a question it sounded like a statement, which made Arya get away from the man, even more nervous than before.

-He's not my prince... I mean, yes, he is, but he can look at anyone in anyway he wants. He's not mine... mine.- Arya answered shaking her head and being confused by her words, while trying to make the man understand what she meant. Obviously Gendry was her prince, but as he was of every person in the Seven Kingdoms. Syrio had alluded to something when he had called "her prince". Something that could never have come true and that Arya wasn't even sure what meant.

-Come back tomorrow whit a less confused mind and we will resume our lesson, girl.- Syrio said, now as serious as Arya had never seen him, taking the wooden sword from her hand and leaving the room silently. The lady huffed heavily and shook her head before doing the same.

The Reed Keep was too large for Arya's tastes, it was a miracle that she didn't get lost in its walls on the way back to her room, although she had lived there for a few weeks now. She had tried to leard the fastest routes to reach her room, especially starting from the kitchen, the garden and the room where she trained with Syrio, but her brain seemed to refure to make her happy.

It took her almost an hour to get to her room, and once there, she found it terribly empty. Nothing in that room reminded her of a house, starting from the view of the Black Waters Bay, up to the warm colors of curtains and blankets, which almost gave her a sickening. She had tried to ask her father to furnish her room as she preferred, and the result when she tried it was disastrous, so she had decided to put everything back as she found it.

She leaned against the window, sighing and looking towards the horizon, trying to imagine what was beyond the Narrow Sea, like Essos' cities, and if there would be room for a lady who still wan't too convinced she wanted to be a lady.


	6. Chapter 6

Since he had arrived at King's Landing, Gendry had not had a day off to rest. All the ladies at court wanted his attentions, as well as his father who wanted to teach him how to make a good King - to find a capable Hand, so that he could sleep and drink wine all day, in addition to attending sometimes Small councils - and his brothers didn't leave him a second to breathe. When he managed to hide in the kitchens to escape from his father who was planning to bring him and his younger brother, Renly, on the hunt, he tried to avoid the curious looks of the cooks as much as possible before sitting down at a table and taking his head between his hands.

Of course, hunting with his father and uncle would have been a good way to stop feeling drowned in a sea of long hair, coarseness and falsehood, but he had thought the same about competing in the tournament in honor of the Hand of the King, and it had cost him the use of his left arm for almowst two weeks, and he didn't want to repeat the experience.

Not that it sucked to have seven impromptu nurses who would have done anything for him, but he would have liked his suitors to realize how oppressive they were - one even asked him if he needed help using the toilet. He hadn't been able to go to the forges since he got hurt, but he knew that it would be the first place where his father would have tried to find him, so, for some peace, he had opted for the kitchen, unaware that another person had the habit of spending their afternoons there.

-I thought all your meals were brought to your room, my Prince.- Arya said interrupting the boy's thoughts as she sat in front of him, with a piece of cake in her hand. -I don't think my brother has ever seen the kitchens of Winterfell, and you're the Prince...

-I'm not here to eat, lady Arya.- Gendry interrupted, tired of people talking to him. The tone in which the girl had spoken to him, however, was a pleasant change from the usual wickedness of his brothers, from the imperative tone of his father and from the groans that came to his ears when he was in the company of his suitors. The Prince snorted heavily, looking up at the girl and apologized for his rudeness.

-You don't have to apologize... I too would be stressed if I had been bedridden for two weeks with my sister always around. I dare not imagine myltiplying it by six.- joked Arya, trying to camouflage the annoyance that the thought of the Prince surrounded by seven of the most beautiful ladies in Westeros got her. -By the way... are you completely healed?

-If I'm not, I'll find out next week when my father and I will haunt.- he replied resting his chin on his hands, so as to be able to look at the girl in front of him as comfortably as possible. -Where did you get that cake?

Arya shrugged, chewing on the piece of cake she had just begun to eat and pointed to the table from which she had taken it with an amused smile. She didn't take her eyes off the Prince for a second as he sneaked to the plate with the cake and cut off a piece, then returned to the table he now shared with her.

-Al least you didn't come here to eat... Do you approve the dessert that will be served at your sister's nameday party, my Prince?- Arya asked him amused, watching him eat. -I don't even know if we should eat it, but Hot Pie, over there, told me that he would have prepared another i any case... Anyway, I guess you already asked one of your ladies to be your escort, didn't you?

Gendry almost choked hearing Arya's words, and finally understood why the ladies became more eager to spend time with him every day, at the exact moment when he realized that the Queen yould have cut his head off if she knew that he was eating her beloved daughter's cake. The truth was that he hadn't even thought about whom to take as his escort to his sister's ball, since choosing one of his suitors would be like promising her his own hand, and he wasn't even remotely ready to choose between one of them.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten about his betrothal with Sansa, brobably because of the other girls at court, but Gendry was fine with that. The fewer people thought of a future with a married prince, the longer he would have had to decide what to do with them.

-No, I haven't chosen an escort yet... you, lady Arya? Do you already have any suitor?- he asked, trying to smile at her and not to reveal the real curiosity that lay behind that question. -Or am I still in time to ask you to accompany me to the Princess' nameday?

Arya shook her head laughing, incredulous at his words. -I don't think that's the case, Prince. You have as many as seven beautiful ladies just waiting to be in public with you to prove to all the Seven Kingdoms that they are worthy of being their Queen...

-And for this reason none of them should have the right, since I have not yet decided which of them will be my bride.- Gendry answered smiling at her, proud of the way he had come out of the uncomfortable situation he had been placed before. -So it would be great if I went with another. Mabye a friend, a person who could never think of becoming Queen, since she doesn't even want to be considered a lady.

Arya looked at him, frowning, trying to figure out if he was serious or not, then nodded. -My brother Robb will be disappointed, but I believe he will survive once you have explained the reason for your choice. Perhaps you should ask your suitors to look for a lord to escort them.- she answered, shrugging her shoulders, smiling amused at the game he had created. Sansa would go crazy knowing that her sister woyld go to the ball with the Prince.

-Yes, I guess six of them will have to find another husband when I make my choice, so it would be better for everyone if they started looking around. In addition, almost all the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms are about to arrive at the palace, it will be fun to see them looking for someone who isn't me.- the Prince agreed, laughing at Arya's proposal. -But I warn you, I won't have much time to spend with you.

-I wouldn't worry about that, I don't think I'll be jealous of you dancing with all the ladies of the kingdoms. In the end, I'm not your betrothed, my sister is.- Arya answered finishing her piece of cake. She was about to add that she would not even have felt too lonely, surrounded by people, but the kitchen door opened revealing one of the King's Guards, which ran to the Prince and forced him to join his father in his rooms, without even giving him time to greet his snack companion.


	7. Chapter 7

Arya had never been enthusiastic about balls, banquets or any social event that forced her to wear an elegant dress, but that day, as she prepared for the ball in honor of Princess Myrcella's nameday, it didn't seem so bad. Pheraps it was the enormous help she had from her maids, or the idea that she would spend an evening with someone who felt as out of place as she was at this type of event, but she was almost happy with that night's ball.

It was esier to get ready without her sister who vorried her, her mother who asked her to be better and the anxiety of being late. She was the Prince's companion, they would all have waited for them anyway. The only person who had more right than her to arrive late was Princess Myrcella, who could never have arrived late for her nameday party. You can't be late if everyone waits for you to start the party.

She had a new dress, this time of light blue silk. It was Myrcella who had it woven for her, and it would have been impossible for her to refuse to wear it, but she had been pleasantly surprised by the dress she had found in her room that morning. It was obviously much lighter than any dress she had ever had in the North, perfectly sewn, as if it had been made on her, and followed Arya's tastes perfectly. It felt like wearing a cloud of fabric that allowed the curves of her body to be seen, but not to become vulgar.

She had found herself strangely well in her few conversations with the Princess. They looked like two sides of the same coin, both destined for things they could never control but they tried to change and shape as much as possible. They were, of course, as different as the sun and the moon, in the way they dressed, in the way they walked and talked, but those were almost negligible differences when they were together in conversation in the lush garden of the Keep.

It was when someone knocked on the door that Arya stopped thinking about her strange friendship with Myrcella. The girl roused herself from her thoughts and went to open the door, finding herself in front of Prince Gendry, fully dressed in black and with the colak on his shoulders of the color of the sun, who smiled at her. Arya thought that that boy seemed forced to wear cloaks, since she was not sure that she had ever seen him without, but she also found herself thinking that the colors of his house were really perfect for him, that she was really lucky to have been chosen to be his escort, and that she felt appallingly inadequate looking at him.

What she never knew was that the Prince was thinking the same. Arya was beautiful, dressed in the color of ice, her hair down her shoulders. Gendry thought she might be the Snow Queen when he saw her. He held out his arm and smiled at her, before beginning to accompany her to the ball room as soon as she put her hand on his forearm, almost shyly.

They talked mostly of the weather, on the way to the party, and when they entered, announced by the pageboy, Arya watched the lords of the Seven Kingdoms bow to them from the top of the stairs and fel more intimidated than ever. She knew they were bowing to the Prince, which was a sign of respect, formality, but she needed Gendry to start down the stairs so she could recover from the idea that they were all there for her. She followed the Prince towards the center of the roo, smiling at all the ball guests and greeting those who she really knew, even by sight, with a wave of her hand.

It didn't take long before she saw her brother Robb bring a cup of wine to Margaery Tyrell, who tool her to ask Gendry if he knew who had invited his ladies. -Today I only have one lady, and that's you.- he replied, smiling amused as he took two cups of wine from a servant. 

-You know what I mean...- muttered Arya, snorting at his joke as she took the cup he was holding for her. Everyone's attention was called to the top of the sairs, where Princess Myrcella and her betrothed Trystane Martell stood smiling. Arya found herself bowing, not having spent more than was due to study the only other friend she felt she had in the capital. She was as beautiful as ever, wearing gold; Arya always knew gold was Myrcella's color, but that night she was glowing.

-Anyway... I think you sister came with my brother Joffrey, poor girl. Lady Tyrell is clearly enjoying Robb's company, while I can see... Lady Talry with her brother, lady Penrose and your cousin lord Arryn, lady Prester chose one of the Queen's cousins, lady Tallkart is accompained by her younger brother and I would say that the one with lady Ryger is lord Frey, one of the many...- Gendry explained once the Princess had descended the stairs, pointing to the direction of the seven copules.

Arya smiled amused looking at the girls who didn't seem to be interested in anything else other than to take a knife and pass its shiny blade on Arya's throat, from the looks they threw as she walked with the Prince. He was taking her to the center of the room, probably to dance, but he was stopped every three steps to excange pleasantries with lords and ladies from all the Seven Kingdoms.

The most embarrassing meeting, for Arya, was certainly the one with Robb and lady Tyrell, who didn't seem to have any intention of staying at the ball for much longer, from the way her brother hel the lady close to him and from the look in his blue eyes. -I think someone has just stolen a suitor from you...- Arya whispered to the Prince, amused by the situation, as soon as they managet to get away from the copule.

-I hope for your brother he hasn't, because it could be considered treason. But I must admit that it would make the choice easier for me.- he replied, smiling as he left their empity cups to a passing servant. -Do you give me this dance, milady?

-I think I'm forced to it, am I?- Arya asked taking the Prince's hand, who quickly pressed himself against her putting his right hand on her hip. His rapid movement caught off guard Arya, who had forgotten to mention the Prince of her inability to dance, but decided to pander to the boy and allow herself to be carried away by him and the music. It felt strange to have him so close, to look into his blue eyes and see only her own reflection.

Arya found herself studying every inch of his face. It helped her focus, she hoped she could not step on his feet by doing so. For once, in her life, Arya felt fortune by her side when, at the end of the dance, she realized that she had managed not to step on his feet even once. She walked away slightly from Gendry, smiling at him and saw that he was smiling back at her.

-You're a very good dancer, lady Arya.- he said with a smirk as the center of the room was freed to make room for King Robert who was going to dance with the Princess. It didn't seem to Arya a good idea that the man, already drunk, could dance with his poor daughter, but whoever told him something like that would probably be beheaded the next morning.

-I think... you are the only one who can save her.- she told the Prince after seeing the embarrassment in Myrcella's eyes while she was dancing with her father. -Show wveryone who deserves the throne.- she added looking towards the other side of the room, where Joffrey was laughing at his sister's fool. -I'll wait for you here. Or mabye at the buffet.

Gendry sighed heavily as he healed her, but realized that Arya was right, so he gave her a final smile before intruding on his father-daughter dance, asking for the pleasure of dancing with the Princess. Pleasure which was granted to him by the King, who after that moment no longer made any appearence at the party. Arya lightly shook her head smiling as she watched the two siblings dance and turned her back to return to the rich buffet.


	8. Chapter 8

He had enjoyed dancing with Myrcella. He had much less fun when Trystane had interrupted them and he found himself alone, when, while trying to get back to Arya, his suitors had encircled him again, starting to ask for his attention. He could no longer see Arya, so he decided it would be better for everyone if he had satisfied the six girls he had around him at the time.

He decided to share his time with each of them, a dance for each girl, before he could go back to enjoying his free time from royal buisness. For a night he wasn't the main attraction at the palace, and he felt happy about it, happy that, for once, his sister was in the spotlight, so he didn't want to go back to normal with the girls. He would have preferred to return to the bubble of tranquility he was in dancing with Myrcella or with Arya earlier.

Time passed almost quickly, from one lady to another, with a brief bat break from time to time, desperate for Arya to save him from the clutches of the firls, but he couldn't see her. Not until he decided to ask Sansa to accompany him to the buffet. -Do you prefer southern parties or would you like to go home?- he asked her almost absent-mindedly handing her a cup of wine.

-Let's say they are different, my Prince... In Winterfell there is less space, usually even less guests... they are all very drunk and much louder. You can never really dance and listen to music in northern parties.- the girl replied, smiling at him as she took her cup from his hands. -But it's nice to finally be able to hear the music.

Gendry wasn't really listening to her, he didn't really care what she thought of the capital's parties, he knew they were the best in the continent, and his eyes had just met those of Lewyin Martell, Trystane' cousin, who smiled at him haughty, as to point out his hand on Arya's back, as he led her to the dance floor.

-I am pleased, lady Sansa... Now tell me... is your sister a sociable person?- he asked the redhead, trying to get rid of the bad feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. In the end it was he who had abandoned her, and Arya was free to dance with whomever she wanted, and surely this did noth bother him, it was not his buisness what the lady did that night.

-No, not really... I think the capital is changing her too. In short, three months ago she could never find someone to dance with. And now the Prince has decided to take her to the ball.- Sansa answered looking over the Prince's shoulders, where she saw her sister dance with Lewyin. -Yet it seems that she chose someone else... Is this the reason why you ask me, my Prince?

-No, she can do whatever she wants. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to... go.- he said quickly before leaving the room. He decided to return only after a few minutes, when by now many lords were moving away, each to his own room. He entered the room, looked around a few seconds, and went into the croud, only to get to the center of the room and see Arya laughing with Lewyin. She seemed happy, as he had never seen her before. She also seemed very drunk, and he hoped for her that none of her siblings saw her.

He decided to male sure no one saw her as he approached her and asked her to return to her rooms. He was looked upon badly by both Arya and Lewyin, but they both decided it youl be wise to listen to him. The boy decided also for Arya, who was now completely leaning against the Prince, her eyes closed and senseless moans coming from her lips. Gendry knew he shouldn't have done it, but he decided to pick her up as soon as they left the room. It was easy, she wasn't heavy.

He had discovered that morning where the lady's room was, and it didn't take him long to bring her inside. He listened all the way to the complaints and speeches of Arya, who spoke of how beautiful snow was. She had also asked him what color he thought the water was. -We paint it blue... But when we take in in our hand, it's pink. Then when it is in the rivers, almost brown...- she was moaning when Gendry finally arrived at his room.

-Arya, I don't think it matters what color water really is. At least, it doesn't matter to me.- Gendry said, letting the firl lie down on her bed. He had let go of the protocol when she couldn't figure out who he was referring to when he called her milady. -Now I'll go back... in my rooms, and I'll leave you to your maids.

-I don't want to play checkers.* I want you to come here and stop talking.- Arya answered shaking her head in a plaintive tone as she stroked the fur next to her. Gendry looked at her, wine blurred his judgment, but he was still lucid enough to understan that if he sat on the girl's mattress, he wouldn't be able to get out of that room.

He was tired, he wanted to avoid going round the castle looking for his room, but he couldn't sleep with Arya. He looked at the girl and felt increasingly tired. At every whimpering Arya did, asking him to join her, he had more desire to do it. He stood looking at her for a few minutes, mabye more, but finally decided to move. He decided to leave the room, and he tried, he really tried. He had started going to the door when Arya crawled up to him, took him by the cloak and forced him to lie down on the bed.

Gendry laughed, finding himself lying on the girl, looking at the cealing, listening to her coarse laugh, who was fumbling to take off his cloak. He decided to hel her, he decided to leave the cloak to her, so that she thought he was still beside her. When he managed to take off his cloak, he watched Arya crouch down and smiled, amused and touched by the sight.

He greeted the lady, who, proud of her conquest, was no longer paying attention to him and decided to return to his room, which took much less time than he had expected. He put on his nightgown and lay in bed as soon as he could, falling asleep at the same moment he touched the mattress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *You guys just lost one of my best jokes, bc in italian maids are called "dame" and the game Arya doesn't want to play is also called "dama", so it was fun in my mother-tongue. Sorry


	9. Chapter 9

She woke up on her bed, still dressed as the night before, wrapped in a cloak the color of the sun and her head ached. It dind't occur to her to wonder why she was covered in that cloak, just the desire to hold it tight and never get up again. It was one of her maids who forced her to get yo when she told her that a raven from the Wall had arrived.

Arya rolled off the bed, got to her feet and covered her blue dress with the Prince's cloak, before reacing the maid and getting Jon's letter. She drove the girl from her room and turned her brother's letter over in her hands. His first letter had arrived when Arya had rached King's Landing, this was the second. Jon finished training, he was ready to take the oath and join the Night Watch. Arya wanted to write to him not to do it, to leave the Wall and return to her, but it would probably have been a waste of words given the distance between the Wall and the capital and the speed of ravens.

She sat on the bed as she read her brother's letter, which told her about his life, the training at the Wall, the costant thought of returning to Winterfell that vanished as soon as hi remembered that his favorite sister was now hundreds of miles from the castle. He asked her if she could train with Needle or if it had become a very dangerous ornament, he asked of Sansa and Robb. They had heard about the party up to the Wall and he hoped that Arya could know more than him about their siblings. He knew that Bran had woken up, that Tyrion Lannister, while traveling back to the capital, had made him bould a special saddle, so that he could still ride, even without using his legs, but he didn't know anything about Sansa and Robb.

Arya had not been told of the Imp's gift, and was happy to read that Bran could continue to ride. He had always liked it, and she knew he would really suffer if he could never do it again. The girl was less happy when she started reading Jon's last question. He wanted to know how things went with the Prince, if Arya was still looking for any excuse to spend time with him or if he had already married.

Arya snorted heavily as she read that question and imagined Jon's laugh as he wrote it. She knew it had been written just to make fun of her, to make her a little angry, but she couldn't avoid bringing a hand to the edge of her cloak and squeezing it between her fingers. Why had Gendry left her his cloak? What happened after she agreed to dance with Lewyin Martell? That one question from Jon made at least a dozen appear in Arya's mind, which needed an answer. Arya knew that if she stayed in her room looking for answers she would go crazy, so she decided to go and look for them in the two boys who were the protagonists of all the questions in her head.

It seemed wise to change, the dress would have been uncomfortable to chase after her answers, while the Prince's cloak could have caused her trouble. She would have told him to pick it up after asking him why she had it. She left the room after making sure that Jon's letter was safe in her mess and started running towards the gardens. She vaguely remembered Lewyin telling her he loved nature and fresh air, so she figured he could be there.

She arrived in the gardens already breathless, and she struggled even more to hide from her older brother, who seemed to be heading towards what now the whole kingdom knew to be lady Tyrell's favorite point at a charge and with a stupid smile on his face. She didn't want Robb to see her, especially when she began to follow him silently, because the last time she had followed her brother outside the walls of Winterfell, only to see him enter a brothel, she had been punished for months.

Her pursuit of Robb was interrupted when Arya managed to find Lewyin, who was walking a few meters from her, looking at the sea. It was almost difficult to stop following her brother, but Arya decided that answering her questions was more important that doing her brother's buisness. She then reached lord Martell, who was surprised to see her coming towards him.

-What are you doing here, lady Arya?- he asked, smiling when they found themselves side by side. Arya looked at him as if the answer was obvious, and asked him what had happened the night before. Lewyin told her what he remembered, that he had asked her to dance shortly after the Princess' dance with her father and brother, that after the fourth time they stamped each other's feet they had decided to fall back on the buffet and they certainly had exaggerated with wine.

-Then I'd say... We went back to the dance floor, when everyone was leaving, and... The Prince came to take you to your rooms. He seemed pretty pissed to see us together, and you seemed wery comfortable with him, so I let him escort you, and I went to rest. I didn't think you were one of his suitors...- Lewyin concluded after his story.

-That's because I'm not. My sister is... The Prince and me... We're just friends, I think.- Arya answered quickly. -In short, I consider him a friend. I hope it's the same for him... Anyway you haven't seen him today, have you?

-I think he's preparing to hunt with the King.- Lewying said, shrugging his shoulders. Arya had completely forgotter about the hunt that Gendry would face with his father and uncle, and she realized she would never be able to talk to the prince alone if he was preparing a trip. -However your look last night was not that of two friends. Then, I could always be wrong, milady.- Lewyin concluded shaking his head slightly and making Arya snort.

The girl decided to at least try to talk to the Prince, so she thanked the lord and left running to Gendry's rooms, although she was aware that she would never find him.


	10. Chapter 10

It was now three days that Gendry was traveling through the Kingswood, with his father, his uncle and many, perhaps too many, Kingsguards, trying to hunt something down. They had taken a couple of rabbits, but it didn't seem that the King intended to return to the fortress without a deer, or a roast boar. Renly was certainly the King's brother whom Gendry tolerated less, but Stannis had to take care of Storm's End, so his uncle who preferred to lie on the grass and look at the sky rather than help with the hunt had to be enough.

After three days of waiting to capture something, Gendry found himself lying beside his uncle as they waited for the King's bloodlust to subside to return to the Red Keep. It was then that Renly put him in front of a question to which Arya, at the Keep, had had to answer for three days straight; why Ned Stark had found Gendry's cloak in his daughter's room.

Gendry tried to tell his uncle the truth, the same truth that the Hand of the King had not believed from his daughter:-Lady Arya had exaggerated with wine, I took her to her room, and she demanded that I leave her my cloak before letting me go.

-Are you sure you didn't leave there anything else, nephew? And why were you the one who brought her back?

-I'm sure, uncle... nothing happened between me and lady Stark, and surely there is nothing but a beautiful friendship. And precisely for this friendship I decided not to let her go... alone in that state.

-Or you did it because it bothered you to see her dancing with another, didn't it?

Arya also wanted to know why he had taken her to her rooms a few days before. She had asked for a private interwiew just outside his rooms and started asking him questions about Myrcella's nameday night. Questions including why she had awakened with his cloak and, above all, why he had brought her back to her room.

Questions that Gendry hadn't been able to answer. The night was confusing for him too, and he couldn't find the words to tell her that she had fallen rather badly, that she had forced him to lie down with her and that she wanted him to sleep in her bed. He couldn't find the words to tell her that he wanted to stop with her, but that he had decided to do the right thing and leave only the cloak. He couldn't find the words to tell her he didn't want to see her with anyone else, because he knew he couldn't ask her that. He couldn't ask her anything, without giving her something in return. But the main problem was, did he want to ask her something at all? Gendry didn't know.

He had answered at the end, with words that had not satisfied Arya, which had not told the truth, words that had left only doubts in Gendry as well as in Arya, but that had made sure that the girl had an answer to give her father when, once the conversation was over, the lord had asked fir the first time that she had been asked hundreds of times in the whole Keep.

-Your Highness! Lord Baratheon!- was the cry that made Gendry shake his head, forcing them both to stand up. -The King needs help, and he wants you.- the guard that was running towards them told them.

Gendry and his uncle drew their swords, running after the guard, who was taking them to the King. -Finally my father took something?- Gendry asked the man in front of him when they started to slow down in the trees. -Can we go home?

The scene that appeared before him was one of the worst he had ever seen. His father lying on the ground, covered in blood, with two guards on him trying to medicate him as best as they could. Robert looked at his son with glassy eyes, as if he were no longer there, as if there was a glimmer of light in the Prince's place.

Gendry ran to his father, he wanted to be helpful, even though he knew it wouldn't do much. He helped the guards to put him on the carriage, he led his horse to the Keep as quickly as possible, he ran inside to warn anyone who might be useful, but it didn't help.

Robert arrived in his bed with difficulty, and he first thing he did was asking for Ned Stark. He wantet to talk to his Hand before leaving the Seven Kingdoms in his son's hands, he wanted him to help Gendry, at least for the first time, he just wanted to talk to his best friend before it was too late. He also asked about his wife and children, but Gendry didn't care. He knew the Lannisters wouldn't arrive in time.

He stood there at the foot of his father's bed, covered in his blood and that of the boar that had struck him, and the only thing he could think of was that if he had been with him, it probably wouldn't have happened. If he did not tire of following his father on a hunt, the King would not be dying now.

Robert dismissed him, wanting to be alone with Ned, and Gendry's feet carried him straight into the throne room. He wasn't ready to sin on the Iron Throne and he knew it. The whole kingdom knew that Gendry wasn't ready. Yet the whole kingdom didn't care. It wasn't important for the wild boar in the woods and it wouldn't have mattered to the High Septum what would have crowned him the day after his father death.

He put his hand on the throne and looked at it, sighing. He had been raised to sit on in, and, one step away from doing it, he wanted nothing more than to run away. Run to Storm's End and ask Shireen what to do, try to convince Stannis to take his place, hide. He had only to wait a few days, then, once he received the news of his father's death, before it spread, he would run away.

If his cousin had succeeded in convincing him, he would also have returned to King's Landing. He would have sat on the throne, with the crown on his head and chosen a wife. He would have decided for the Seven Kingdoms. He was able to do it, he just wasn't ready. And he would have to find someone to support him, someone to love him, someone he could love. He wouldn't get stuck in a job he didn't like, in an unhappy marriage and with children who couldn't stand him. He wouldn't be his father, of that he was certain.

He was sitting on the stairs leading up to the Throne when Ned Stark came to him and handed him his father's crown. -King Robert has left us, Your Grace. Long live the King.- he said looking at him with the usual serious tone, this time with an extra emotion. He looked almost as distressed as the boy, but he was convinced Gendry would do well. He would have been a better King than his father.

With a sigh, Gendry took the crown the man was holding out to him and looked at it:-Long live the new King.- he whispered, shaking his head. It all seemed like a game, a joke. He knew it sadly wasn't so.


	11. Chapter 11

She had attended to too may feasts lately. Robert's funeral feast, which never seemed to end, followed, only a few days later, by Gendry's coronation. She was happy for Gendry, who had managet not to let Joffrey sit on the throne, who could now choose to do what he wanted, unlike herself. Obviously she was sorry that the king was dead, but she guessed that Gendry didn't care that much, after all Robert didn't look like a present father.

Arya was grateful to the feasts she had attended, because they had allowed her to avoid her father and older siblings who were still asking questions because of the golden cloak in her room. It happened almost two months before, but now Arya couldn't have a conversation with a member of her family without it resulting in questions about her relationship with the King, or worse.

Her family did nothing but irritate her, the King had left with his father's body for Storm's End leaving lord Stark in charge, and Arya was starting to think that mabye Gendry had been right to leave. She pent a lot of time in the gardens, hoping not to meet her family, in the kitchens talking to Hot Pie, or training with Syrio, who by now thought he could no longer teach her anything.

That day started badly; Sansa showed up in her room at the first lights of day and started screaming at her that she had no right to steal the King from under her nose. She acted as if Gendry had already chosen her since Robb and Margaery's friendship had been made public, though Arya knew it couldn't have happened, since the King was already on the road wheb lady Tyrell had pulled out of the competition to become Queen. Not that there was really a competition, Arya knew that her sister was Gendry's betrothed, even if she didn't understand why it had not been made public, why Gendry continued to feed those girls' hopes.

Arya was tired of Sansa. She was tired of the fact that her sister didn't believe her when she told her that there was absolutely nothing between her and the King, that he had no intention of thinking of Arya as a possible wife and that she had no intention of asking him. She was also tired of the fact that Sansa wasn't the only one who didn't believe her. Every now and then, while repeating to her siblings the usual speech, she wondered if it was all true what she was shouting at them, or if she was saying it to make them feel better and making them stop asking questions.

She missed someone in the capital who could help her understand why the thought of the King married to her sister has such a strange effect on her. She had no Jon in the capital. She could have gone to Myrcella, but after her nameday she left for Dorne with her betrothed. She would have tried to turn to Hot Pie, but he hadn't been very helpful. Thinking about it, she could have talked to Jon through the letters that were sent regularly, but it would have taken too long to get an answer.

Her first instinct, when she mounted her horse, was to return to the North, reach the Wall and ask Jon for advice. When she remembered that they would never welcome her to Castle Black, she decided to head south. South, where was the other person who would have listened to her even thought she had to tell him about him. South, where she hoped no one would ask questions she couldn't answer.

South because Storm's End was only a week away, and she hoped that the letter she had left on her father's desk after running away from Sansa's anger would make him wait before sending knights to look for her at least to reach the Baratheon's fortress and send him a raven to let him know that she was alive. South because the roads were much safer than those to reach Winterfell.

South because she had promised herself to travel around the continent before she was forced to marry, and it seemed like an excellent opportunity to do so. South because it was the only place where she could have gone alone, risking to lose herself and never return to the capital. To Storm's End because it was the only place where she would find the answers she didn't know she was looking for before it was too late.

She galloped off, not really knowing where to go, and decided to follow the King's Road until it was possible. She knew she had to keep the sun, just born, on the left, and so she would do until she entered the woods. Or at least she believed she had to cross the Kingswood to reach the Stormslands. She had never been too attentive to geography lessons. She wasn't interested until she found herself riding a black horse in search of Storm's End.

Leaving the capital the only regret she had was that she had not listened to Maester Luwin when he tried to explain to her how to reach the various fortresses of the Seven Kingdoms. She even regretted not having escaped before, but before that morning Sansa was still a long way from reaching the limit.

Arya found it ironic how her sister's talk about how she should no longer have any contact with Gendry, had made her run straight to him. She believed that this was the right punishment for her sister. She knew that when Sansa found out where she was going, she would be furious, she knew she would demand her return, she probably would try to convince their father to send her back to Winterfell with Robb, when he left. And Arya would not have stopped her sister's fury, Sansa wouldn't have succeeded anyway.

But she had no intention of doing anything to prevent her from knowing. She would probably have written her a letter, along with the one for her father, she would have had Gendry sign it to make sure Sansa didn't doubt his presence, and she would boast that she could enjoy his company.

It was a carefree ride that took her to Storm's End; Arya passed it in various thoughts, the main one how to make Sansa pay for reaching the limit.The King also went through her head several times, but whenever it happened, she tried to convince herself to think of something else. She would have thought of him once she reached Storm's End.


	12. Chapter 12

He had been to Storm's End only a few times in his life. When Robert recognized him, he toured the Seven Kingdoms, along with the King, to show everyone the heir to the throne. When Shireen was born, Robert had convinced Cersei to spend a few months with their family in the Stormslands. He had been sent on vacation to his uncle a few years earlier, and was the only one of the three visits he had made that he could remember.

He had never imagined that he would return as a King, also because he had never thought of a future in which he would really be King of the Seven Kingdoms, and instead there he was, crossing the fortress' gates on horseback, the cloak fluttering and the look of someone who would have preferred to be dead than King.

Stannis and his wife, along with the whole court, bowed to him as soon as he set foot on the beaten earth of the courtyard where they ere welcoming him, as if it were needed. Gendry hated this king of formality, especially from family members, and was happy when Shireen ran to meet him hugging him.

It was the first of many hugs from his cousin, who each time managed to drive away bad thoughts and warm the King's heart. It had been almost two months since he had been crowned, he should've felt on the top of the world, yet his cousin's arms were the only place he felt happy. He knew he should have been glad to be King but he could not like the new formalities. He could hardly even answer when they called him "Your Grace", he never remembered that no one could ever sit or stand before him and, above all, he could not keep the crown on his head. His father's head was much bigger than his, still he had decided to keep his crown, at least for that trip.

-When do you think you'll return to King's Landing?- a girl asked him joyfully as she entered his room. It wasn't the first time, in a month, that Shireen entered Gendry's room without being invited or asking permission, and the King knew it wouldn't be the last.

-Are you kiking me out, Reen?- the King answered laughing. When the girl shook her head, he motioned for her to sit beside him on the bed. -I don't know if I'll ever leave... you're such a good company.

-But you have to go back to your people. You must go and reign. Gendry, we've already talked about it, even if you don't like that, you know you have to do it.- Shireen trew herself on the King's bed and looked at the cealing, tired of always repeating the same things to him. Gendry had come to her for advice, but he didn't seem satisfied with the answer he had received.

He knew what his cousin would tell him to do and he intended to listen to her, but when they talked about going back to the capital, something didn't seem right. People wouldn't have wanted him as King, Joffrey would have plotted to kill him, he would have had to marry. These were the King's main replicas when Shireen suggested that he returned to the Iron Throne and took the place that belonged to him.

You can't know if this is the case until you try it, you can have him killed first and nobody will rush you, were the arguments that the girl used to convince him to be King every time. They had had this conversation more than once, but Shireen still had failed to convince Gendry.

-However I think they sent someone to look for you.- the girl said, without taking her eyes off the cealing, after a few minutes of silence. She had just remembered why she went to see the King. -A few hours ago a raven arrived from Bronzegate, to warn you that lady Stark is coming.

-Sansa...- Gendry asked confused looking at his cousin. -Why would they send Sansa to look for me? Why would they send anyone to look for me... I'm here, there's half of the Kingsguard with me.

-Sansa? The letter was aboutt a girl named Arya... Do I need to know anything?

Gendry remained silent. No one would ever send Sansa to look for him, but they would never ask Arya to leave the capital. Something must've happened if lady Stark had taken a horse to join him. But he couldn't fight the sense of relief when he learned that Shireen wasn't talking about Sansa.

He missed his nightly chats in the gardens with Arya. It was since Myrcella's party tha he could no longer find a moment to talk to the girl, to even ask her opinion on his coronation. He had seen her, during the ceremony, surrounded by her family, in a silver-colored gown, she seemed happy. Everyone looked like it. His best friend had just died, but Ned Stark was happy with Gendry's coronation, so he had imagined it was only out of courtesy that Arya had a smile on her face.

He still didn't understand why she had decided to go down so far south, and he would have to wait a few days before having an answer. She had probably decided to fulfill her dreams of freedom and had taken the first road she had found. But why advise him of her arrival in that case?

-Gendry, are you listening to me?- Shireen asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face. The King shook his head admitting that he had not heard a word from the cousin's long speech, then asked her to repeat it.

-So my father wants to know if you'll have dinner with us tonight or if someone should bring it to your room...

-I think if he stopped asking me about royal stuff, I could agree to spend some more time with him. At least Renly tries to figure out if I'm still a virgin...

-Are you serious...?

-The last time we spoke he was going to ask me, before we were called to assist my father. As if he really cared.

-I didn't want to know. I hope at least that uncle Robert wasn't there... I would never want to hear my brother asking my son if he's a virgin or not just before I die.

-Trust me, you just don't want to hear it, regardless of the distance of your death.

-Will you go and welcome lady Stark in person or will you let her find you?

-Why do you care?

-You didn't answer.

-Neither did you, Reen. I'm the King, my questions are more important.

-You could be the King, but you're also an idiot... if you don't go welcome her, I will go there, and it will be worse for the both of you, since I will have her explain the reason for her visit.

-I would too.

-I think she came here for you, so it would make sense if you were there when she arrived.

-We will reconsider when she arrives..- the King closed the talk, getting up from the bed. -Let's go to dinner? I'm hungry, and I imagine your father is waiting for us.

Shireen nodded and stood up, before running to the dining room with her cousin, still full of questions for him and the girl who would arrive at the fortress a few days later.


	13. Chapter 13

The jouney had been easier than expected, all she had to do was go to the nobles' fortresses, name her father, and everyone had been more than happy to help her, as in the inns. Once she reached Bronzegate she had decided that warning Gendry of her arrival would be at least nice, so she had written to both him and her father, to reassure him of her safety.

From there it was only one day to reach Storm's End, and it passed rather quickly. Even before she could see it, she was in front of the fortress walls, waiting for the gates to open. Certainly she didn't expect a welcoming committee, but was almost disappointed by the absence of the King upon her arrival. Had the raven not arrived?

She got off her horse, leaving him to a stable boy, and was immediately joined by a girl, who could have been her age, mabye a few years younger, too smiling for Arya's tastes. She knew that Stannis Baratheon had a daughter, but she never imagined that she would be the first person to meet once she arrived at Storm's End.

-Lady Stark, it is an honor to meet you.- Shireen began, approaching her and giving her a small bow when she reached her. -I am Shireen Baratheon, and welcome you to Storm's End.

-The pleasure is mine, lady Baratheon...- Arya answwìwred looking around without paying too much attention to the girl's words. -I guess you are wondering where the King is... let me take you to him.- Shireen said, still smiling, meeting her almost lost gaze.

-Shouldn't I... pay my respects to lord Baratheon first?- Arya asked as she slowly began to follow the girl towards the fortress walls. To many it may not have seemed so, but Arya remembered every single lesson of good manners she had to follow as a child, and these provided that, once arrived in a fortress, one should speak with its lord and lady first.

-I believe my father is sleeping. And anyway the King asked me to take you to him as soon as you arrived...

-So why didn't His Majesty greet me in person?

-Because I wanted to know the reason for your visit before him. Do you have to bring him back to the capital?

-Does hosting the King cause you so much trouble?

-He doesn't need to disturb us because we understand that you need him in the capital.

-I just need to talk to him... no one's here to bring him home, especially if he doesn't want to. My father is able to take care of the kingdom until His Grace is no longer grieving.

-What should you talk about, if I can ask?

-Nothing so important to look at, lady Baratheon.- Arya concluded with a look that made Shireen understand that to continue would have meant to irritate her. They continued to walk on the walls of the fortress for a few minutes, before reaching the point closest to the sea, where Gendry stood, leaning against the ramparts, his eyes lost in the waves of the sea.

-I leave you alone.- Shireen told Arya before silently moving away and giving Arya time to observe the King in front of her. It had been too long since she had really been able to talk to him, without anyone listening to them. Without either of them feeling the weight of their title on their shoulders.

-Do you want to stand there watching me or have you come to tell me something, milady?- Gendry asked her without looking away from the sea. He hoped she wouldn't bring him bad news, that she wasn't there by order of her father, that she didn't want to take him back to the capital. He hoped he wouldn't have to ask her to leave.

Arya took a step toward him, resting a hand on the ramparts of the walls, without moving her eyes from him. She was observing his profile, the way the muscles of his jaw twitched, even involuntarily, every time the wind changed direction, the eyes that seemed to reflect the blue of the sea and the red of the sunset at the same time, his black hair now definitely messed up due to the sea breeze.

-I thought I had already asked you several times not to call me that, when we are alone, Your Grace.- she answered almost in a whisper. Arya heard her voice so faint that she was afraid he couldn't hear her. She was about to repeat herself when she saw him look down and curl his lips in an amused smile.

-If you insist on calling me your grace, I guess I'll continue to call you milady.- the King answered, finally bringing his eyes to her. -So I think it would be better for both of us if, at least when no one can hear us, we started to drop formalities.

-As you wish, You..- Arya stopped, under an amused look from Gendry, realizing her mistake. -As you wish, Gendry.- she corrected herself immediately, letting a smile show.

-Why did your lord father send you to bring me back?

-My father didn't know I would come here until I reached Bronzegate. You should have come to get your cloak when I asked you to.

-And I should never have left my father alone in the woods, but here we are. A King and a lady with a cloak who cannot bear her sister's questions.

-You say it as if you hadn't rushed here to avoid the wrath of your brothers too.

Gendry looked away from Arya's eyes and shook his head slightly. He hoped that no one had understood the real reason for his journey, how much fear he really had for his life. The guards who had accompained him had not made it, yet it was Arya who understood it.

-I would have run away too if my brother had been anything like Joffrey.- Arya added seeing the King in difficulty. She knew she had escaped for far less than a death threat, but it didn't seem appropriate to talk about her problems with a man who seemed on the verge of a crisis.

-I never considered Joffrey my brother... like I never considered someone at court as a friend, or like my family.- Gendry replied letting her take a step towards him, since they were too far away for anyone to see them. -I've always only had Shireen... but she has always lived here. Then I met you, and thought I had found... a friend?- he continued looking at her uncertainly. -But I think that cloak ruined all our chances of having a normal conversation again, didn't it?

-We are having one right now.- Arya answered trying to look at his eyes, trying to understand why he was telling her those things, even if he understood, while saying them, the reason why she had gone to Storm's End. She had never thought about it, never wanted to think so. But at that moment, on the walls of the fortress, the wind in their hair, the taste of saltiness all around and Gendry's eyes looking at her, perhaps with a different light, she found herself thinking about what her life would have been like if she was in Sansa's place.

-Doesn't seem normal to me.- murmured Gendry. Arya couldn't blame him, it wasn't normal what she was feeling, what she was thinking was wrong, if anyone saw them she would have to run away from her sister forever. Everything that was going through her head was wrong at that moment, and she tried to convince herself to take a step back, to do the right thing.

She had never hated her sister, she would've never done it. She never wanted to do something to annoy her father. Sansa would surely hate her if she found out what was going to happen in the Stormslands, and she probably would have the support of their father, but Arya knew she couldn't control her instincts for a long time, she had never been good at it.

Looking at the King's eyes, her mind placed her at a crossroads, doing what she wanted to do or doing what would have been right to do. Choose to try, to satisfy her heart, or to remain silent, get away and run away. Face the consequences of her feelings or run away from the Seven Kingdoms.

It wasn't easy, but she managed to decide. She knew it was wrong, that for him, she was wrong, that it wouldn't change anything in his duties to his suitors, but decided to try anyway. It would probably have changed his mind about her, he would have asked her to leave the capital and he would have had her marry some lord, but she couldn't stop.

She figured out that they were close enough to lay her hands on his cloak, forcing him to bend, stand up on her toes and lay her lips on his, and she did so. It took Gendry a few seconds to realize what was happening. He turned away from her, looked at her and, aware that she was the wrong one from every point of view, he realized that there would never be a fairer girl for him, and resumed that kiss that no one should ever have known about.


	14. Chapter 14

He hadn't spoken to Arya, he had tired, but he had failed. When he had found the strenght to interrupt their kiss, he was about to say something to her, but he had seen Shireen't silhouette approaching hopping at them, calling them for dinner. He didn't know what that kiss really meant, that kiss so different from all the others he'd with his suitors. The first had been taken from Talla Tarly, a few weeks after her arrival in the capital, almost a year and a half ago.

It wasn't even remotely magical like this, it wasn't even remotely wanted as much as this. It had not struck Gendry as Arya's simple gaze in the moment between the two kisses had made. None of the kisses with those girls had been remotely comparable to the one with Arya, but he had failed to tell her. He had failed to speak before going to dinner, accompanied by his cousin who had to pretend that she hadn't witnessed what had just happened, almost like he and Arya felt compelled to pretend it had never happened, probably because they didn't know that Shireen had really seen it all.

They sat at the table, facin each other, and they hadn't looked at each other for the whole meal, then Arya had run away and, before Gendry could get her, she had already disappeared into the room she had been assigned. The King had decided to avoid his cousin, having caught her eyes during dinner and not wanting to answer her questions with answers he didn't have. He went to sleep, even though he didn't really sleep, and when he woke up the next morning he felt like he was in a dream.

All the events of the night before seemed too absurd to be true, and he didn't even think he remembered Arya's arrival. He went down to the kitchen still half asleep, trying not to meet anyone. He tried as much as he could, he didn't want to see anyone, but obviously, the more he tried, the more the world seemed to be angry with him.

The moment he entered the kitchen, wrapped almost only in a bear's fur, he realized that the night before hadn't been a dream, that Arya had arrived at Storm's End and that at that moment she was looking at him leaning against a table with an apple in her heands, in a nightgown.

-Goodmorning...- the King muttered, looking at the girl. -Did you sleep well, lady Stark? I mean... was the mattress comfortable enough? Shireen didn't bother you, did she?

-I slept well, yes... Your Grace seems rather... shaken.- Arya answered letting her gaze slide over the boy. -It isn't very usual for a King to go for a fortress with only bearskin on him, is it?

-You clearly haven't ever seen my father...

-I guess I don't care... Does Your Grace need me, or can I... go?

-I'm the one who came in here, lady Stark, I should be the one to leave...

-But I'm almost finished having breakfast, this kitchen is now Yours. I can leave.

-Actually... We need to talk, lady Stark. And we can't do it here. I'll come to you room in an hour, is that okay?

-As Your Grace wishes.- Arya answered going over to Gendry and leaving the kitchen without saying goodbye. Gendry didn't know what he wanted to say, but he knew he had to talk to her before they went back to King's Landing. And he knew that time wasn't on his side.

He quickly had brackfast, he had no time to waste, and returned to his room, to get dressed before looking for Arya's room. It was all to easy to find her, he knew it hadn't been an hour since he met Arya, but he decided to knock anyway. The girl invited him to come in, and so he did.

-Tell me everything you have to tell me, we're alone.- Arya told him from the bed, looking at him with an expression that Gendry couldn't decipher. The last time he had been in her room, the girl had tried to sleep with him, but something told him that everything would be different on this occasion.

-It seemed the right thing.- the King began by approaching Arya's bed. -I don't know if you came here just for that, to... try something to yourself, to understand... but to me it seemed the right thing to do.

-Wouldn't you have done it?

-I'm not saying this. I'm saying it seemed wrong to say no... but I don't know what that means.

-I have been looking at you for months, surrounded by ladies who would like nothing more than to be with you...

-And I don't think you've ever known a person as confused as me. I get up in the morning, wondering if it could be the right day, the day when one of those girls will tell me the thing that will change my life...

-But it never happens. And it didn't happen yesterday either.

-You're... the wrong one.

-We can't do this to my sister, to all those poor girls.

It was true, he couldn't. He couldn't disappoint the whole kingdom by choosing the wrong sister, and he didn't even know if he could do it. If he wanted to do it. It wasn't cleat yo him what he wanted at that moment, while Arya's gaze, fixed on him, gave the idea that she already had all the answers.

-I don't expect anything from you, Gendry. I don't want anything, just to be honest.- Arya told him getting out of bed and approachin him. -But I would like you to be honest too.

-I don't know, Arya. I don't know what I want and I might not know it soon enough for you not to change your mind. For now I know that I don't want this to ruin our friendship, I couldn't go back to King's Landing without my friend.- he replied trying to speak with all the sincerity he had in his body. He really wanted to be honest with her, and he really wanted her to stay by his side, but he really didn't know what to do.

To distract him from his thoughts was one of the servants Stannis had asked to take care of Arya, the one that had come out the room just before Gendry entered, who knocked on the door, telling the lady that a raven had arrived for her from the father.

The letter was more addressed to Gendry than to Arya, but it certainly asked both of them to return to the capital. She had to go back because her father ordered her, he because the nobles, at court and out, were staeting to get impatient. They wanted Gendry to find a wife, they wanted him to at least decide which of their daughters would become Queen. And they wanted him to do it sitting on his throne, with his new crown on his head.


	15. Chapter 15

They had left a week after the raven's arrival, they had asked Shireen to go with them, but Stannis hadn't let her go. They had been alone in the royal carriage for days, and it didn't seem that Gendry wanted to talk to her, exept to ask her about the weather and how she was. He was probably afraid that the guards outside the carriage could hear them, and Arya agreed with him. If they had really talked, they would probably have said things that didn't fit their new relationship, so she preferred a silent journey rather than one that could have cost the King's reputation. Of course, she would've preferred riding, leaving him alone in the carriage, but Gendry had been categorical in wanting her with him.

Back in the capital, everything was back to normal, more or less. Ned had vented all his anger and concern over his daughter and he had returned to the calm man he once was, Sansa had started to be almost nice with her sister, she was probably no longer frustrated by the King's absence, and Robb, well, he was like a ghost.

Arya knew that her older brother hadn't left for Winterfell yet, but she rarely saw him around the Red Keep. Sansa had told her he was spending more and more time with Margaery Tyrell, and Arya had decided to go and find out the truth. She was hopping towards Robb's room, happy to finally be able to talk to her brother, but she was blocked by the sight of lady Tyrell, in her turquoise dress, coming out of the door. She had messy hair, she was almost running as she went out, and she was laughing.

Robb came to the door after her, looking at her as if she were the coveted prey of a hunt. Arya wasn't hidden from the sight of her brother, but she didn't think that, even if she had jumped in front of him, he would have looked at her. Unlike him, however, the girl was studying the young lord, she was watching the expression on his face, the smile that spread to his eyes. She didn't think she'd ever seen it that way. She knew she had never seen him so happy. His expression reminded her of Nymeria the first time he had brought back a rabbit that had just been hunted in the woods near Winterfell.

She watched him disappear back into his room and Arya found herself wondering if there was someone watching her that way. If it were plausible that Gendry didn't take his eyes off her until it was no longer physically possible. She found herself wanting to ask lady Tyrell what her secret was. How she could, in such a short time, have the Young Wolf at her feet.

She intended to talk to Robb, but her feet had guided her in pursuit of Margaery. She didn't even know how she would start the conversation, but she followed her silently to the gardens, to the sea porch that everyone knew was her favorite place. She sighed when she realized they were alone and decided to approach her.

-Lady Stark, what a pleasure.- the girl said when she saw her approaching. Arya tried not to turn her head. She wasn't used to being called "lady Stark" yet, and whenever someone did, she tended to look around, looking for her mother or sister. She was coming to terms with this title, but it was still strange.

-Lady Tyrell... May I talk to you?- she asked as she put her hand on the back of the chair in front of the one where Margaery sat.

-I think we should leave the formalities... take a seat.

-How long have you and Robb known?

-I thought we would have taken a little longer to get to the point.- the lady said with an amused smile. Arya wrinkled her nose, she wasn't one who liked words. It was normal for her to get straight to the point. -I'd say that... we first met when he arrived in the capital... but I had heard about him from Loras. A few years ago he had come to Winterfell for your brother's sixteenth birthday tournament, and he came back... ecstatic.

Arya remembered the tournament, but she didn't know that the Knight of Flowers had come, she hadn't been very attentive to the guests. She remembered that a few months earlier all the ravens had been sent to every corner of the Seven Kingdoms, evidently, but she didn't know who had actually come to the castle that year.

-So how...

-How did I make him fall in love with me so fast?

-Arya nodded; Margaery had taken the words out of her mouth, and she had done it with all the grace and elegance that the gods had taken from her. She knew that in her life she would never be able to be even a tenth of the lady that Margaery was proving to be at that moment, and that was fine with her, even though she felt at the same time almost scared of that.

-I don't think I can answer for him... I don't even know if he loves me, if I have to tell the truth.- the lady answered looking her in the eyes. Arya could see her sincerity in her crystalline eyes, and couldn't understand her doubts. -Probably, though... I did the same way that... you and the King...

Arya blushed at her words, and began to shake her head:-I think you misunderstood... between me and the King there's nothing...

-If not a great friendship, right? A friendship so great that you went all the way to Storm's End just to take a trip...

-I was angry at my sister, I didn't know where to go and... Storm's End is near, and there was my friend.- Arya stammered feeling almost duty to justify herself with the other. She knew the news of her trip would spread, she knew what they would say about herm and she knew she didn't care. But hearing someone tell her openly was different than knowing that the city was talking behind her.

Margaery looked at her, smiling sympathetically:-You shouldn't hide... it wouldn't be ideal for me to betray the trust of the sister of te man whom I am in love... I too would have done the same in your place.

-Actually I was surprised when none of his suitors left with him...

-He asked us to stay. He was in mourning. I don't think any of us seemed right to invade his privacy...

Arya sighed, looking at her hands. Had she invaded his privacy? She did, in fact, show up at Gendry's door without him inviting her, without anyone knowing, but she never wondered if it could be a nuisance to him.

She decided to clarify with the boy, she wouldn't hold that doubt for much longer, so she greeted lady Tyrell and ran to the royal rooms, ignoring the little voice inside that told her she would invade her privacy once more.


	16. Chapter 16

He had delayed that moment as much as possible. He had tried in every way not to be seen by Ned Stark, not to give the impression of being stalling, of not wanting to marry, but simply not finding the time to choose. He had failed to do anyithing he had set for himself. He had tried for almost six months before his father's death and he tried for two more after returning from Storm's End, but eventually found himself forced to sit on the throne.

Gendry sat on the Iron Throne. It wasn't the first time he had done it and it wouldn't have been the last, but this seemed strange. Almost all of the Seven Kingdoms were prostrated before him, his advisers behind him, six girls waiting to be invited to come in to know which of them would become Queen - Gendry didn't have the heart to tell them about his father's decision about his life, and had chosen to choose between them without considering his betrothal to Sansa. He didn't know if he could, but he decided to do it anyway. Everyone was waiting for his word, and the only thing Gendry could think of was that his throat felt too dry even to move.

The new golden crown weighed on his head like concrete, although it finally managed to stay ahead. They had dressed him fully for the occasion, in the Baratheon's colors; he would have liked to change colors every now and then, but everyone kept telling him that it was tradition, that they were fine and Cercei refused to let him wear her colors, unlike she did with his siblings.

Gendry looked at the crowd in front of him and looked for a friendly face. He was looking for his sister, but Myrcella was still in Dorne, he was looking for his cousin, but Shireen had not been able to go to court by order of her father, he was looking for one of the few girls who had the courage to tell him the truth, and who had turned to be an exellent ally, after receiving his blessing, but lady Tyrell and Robb Stark were nowhere to be seen. He was looking for Arya, but he knew she had to be at her sister's side at the time.

He invited the girls to enter. He did it with a wave of his hand, the words still struggled to arrive. He looked at them one by one as they bowed to him, imagining his life with each of them;

Talla Tarly would have given him three little girls, who would only look like him thanks to their eye color and the throne would have gone to Joffrey once a face accident caused his death. Talla and the girls would've followed his death in a couple of months.

Lyanna Tallhart would have been a great Queen, but she would have had less luck than Talla with her children. No heir would have been born of their union, Lyanna wouldn't have brought any man near her bed, not before a prostitute could poison her. Gendry would then have to choose another wife, and he didn't want to spend another six months of his life surrounded by girls.

Celia Penrose would have had a son. Gendry wouldn't. The child would have been born from the union of the Queen with the King's younger brother, Gendry wouldn't even have noticed, before seeing him born he would have died at the hands of Jamie Lannister. Joffrey's son would come to the throne and the Lannisters would be happy.

Alyssa Prester would have given him two beautiful twins, one would die of Greyscale shortly after their birth, the other would try to become an excellent Prince, he would have been Gendry's joy, until his death in a useless battle. Gendry would have spent his old age reigning over the Seven Kingdoms, he would have spat on Joffrey's grave and the throne would have gone to Tommen after Gendry's death.

Gaya Ryger would have had a son and two daughters with Gendry, but the King wouldn't have been happy to discover that his only son would've preferred to become a Maester rather than follow in his footsteps. His daughters would have married two powerful lords and he son of one of them would have been the heir appointed by Gendry before he died.

Sansa Stark would spend half her days complaining about how much she missed the North, but she would always be at her King's side. They and their son would make long journeys around the kingdom to find him a lovely wife who could make him happy before he was three. He would have always been more of a wolf than a stag, but Gendry would have been almost happy to have dinners with Sansa's family, Robb and his wife would often go back to court, often on their way to Highgarden, Arya and her husband less often, but they would have gone too. Sansa would've envied the looks and the relationship her husband had with her sister all her life.

None of these futures made him satisfied enough to choose a wife. He knew he had to do it, but he didn't want to. He wished there was another choice, a way out. He wanted to choose who really deserved to be by his side. Of course, from his predictios, Sansa would've been the safe choice, but Gendry knew he couldn't live by her side being in love with her sister.

It was when he saw them one in ahead of the other that he realized he was holelessly in love with Arya. His heart had already chosen that day at Storm's End, his mind took a while to realize it. He had chosen the wrong sister. He had fallen for the wrong lady.

Gendry closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. The room was in complete silence, waiting for his word. The girls, surrounded by their families, lined up in front of him, looked at him waiting for an answer. He saw everybody's face, saw their hopeful eyes, and knew he wouldn't choose any of them.

Gendry made his gaze flow on all of them. He left Sansa last, smiled imperceptibly as he shifted his gaze to Arya, chaining his eyes to hers. Arya shook her head, as if she knew what Gendry wanted to do and silently begged him to reconsider it.

-Lady Stark,- Gendry whispered resolutely without breaking eye contact with Arya. -Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms?

Arya smiled and closed her eyes nodding, and this was enough for Gendry to understand that she knew, that Arya wouldn't have rejoiced for her sister, that she knew to whom that proposal really was addressed. Too bad the rest of the kingdom didn't.


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one's shitty and short, but it should serve only to explain what happens next  
> I really appreciate all the comment and kudos and I hope you loved reading this story as much as I loved writing it!
> 
> Thanks a lot to everyone and enjoy the last chapter!

-Mya, haven't you grown tired of hearing this story?- asked the Queen entering the Princess' room, her first daughter, a beautiful five-years-old girl, the color of the sea in her eyes, her hair darker than her father's, her skin lighter that her mother's, the color of a lady of the North.

Little Mya Baratheon loved hearing the story of how her mother and father met and fell in love, anytime she could, asking anyone to tell her their side of the story. The one she loved better was Hot Pie's one.

The Princess' blue eyes fixed on her mother's brown ones, managing to draw her attention away from her septa, who hadn't yet finished telling the story, but who had stopped seeing the Queen enter. A smile opened on the girl's face, who ran towards Arya, jumped into her arms and left a kiss on her cheek. -Mom, you know I love your story! 

-I also know that you should've packed your bags for our trip to Winterfell. And yet here you are, forcing you poor septa to tell you the story of how mom and dad met each other.- the woman replied with a smile as she held her baby to herself. -Do you think that uncle Robb would be happy to know that his beloved niece doesn't want to visit him in the North?

-I do want to go! I want to see the North! And aunt Margaery's new baby!- screamed the girl hearing her mother's words. Arya smiled, telling her that they would've packed her bags together, and asked the septa to leave the Princess' room.

-You have yet to hear my side of the story.- she told the child as she stride to her bedm where the clothes for the trip were already set up.


End file.
